Oversupply of cannabis causes concern for Oregon businesses

A new report from the Liquor Control Commission says the state has over half a decade's worth of excess pot.

Posted: Feb. 11, 2019 5:48 PM

Updated: Feb. 11, 2019 6:37 PM

Posted By: Emma Jerome

EUGENE, Ore. -- Marijuana users could smoke for six years and still not burn through the excess cannabis in oregon, a new report from the Liquor Control Commison says.

One local grower told KEZI 9 News he's not surprised.

"Well we kinda knew that was going to happen because oregon is not a very populated state and has a lot of prime cannabis growing real estate," said Travis Mackenzie, owner of TJ's dispensary.

Mackenzie started growing legal cannabis over 10 years ago, and even with is experience, he said he has made sacrifices. He said he's had to lower prices as well as pay. However, he said he won't be the only one making sacrifices.

He said he started growing medical cannabis for his wife.

"We have a lot of medically sensitive people who are counting on this to work," Mackenzie said. "The ability to get medicine for cheaper is great, but if the medicine that works for them, if the farms that grow the cannabis that works for them go out of business because of the market landscape, that's not good for patients," Mackenzie said.

He said the recreational marijuana market is only a replacement for the medical one.

Former OSU professor Seth Crawford, who is an expert on marijuana economics, told the Associated Press last year that overproduction was guaranteed when oregon legalized recreational marijuana because the state did not cap the number of producers.

What happens to the oversupply is now in the hands of Oregon lawmakers.